Iraqi president meets Saudi king after visiting rival Iran

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has received Iraq’s President Barham Salih a day after the Iraqi official visited the kingdom’s rival, Iran.

Salih’s back-to-back visits to Iran and Saudi Arabia reflect the delicate balance Iraq seeks to maintain in a region where its two powerful neighbors are battling for supremacy.

Salih was received at the airport in Riyadh on Sunday by the province’s governor and other Saudi officials. King Salman holds a lunch in honor of the Iraqi president with ministers and high-level princes in attendance.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency releases few details about Salih’s talks with the monarch.

On Saturday, Salih was in Tehran where he pledged to improve trade ties less than two weeks after.

— AP

خادم الحرمين الشريفين يعقد جلسة مباحثات مع رئيس جمهورية #العراق، , جرى خلالها استعراض العلاقات الوثيقة بين البلدين، والسبل الكفيلة بتعزيزها وتطويرها في مختلف المجالات، بالإضافة إلى بحث مستجدات الأحداث في المنطقة.#واس pic.twitter.com/s9O6NvRRTu

— واس الأخبار الملكية (@spagov) November 18, 2018